a year in status

Food poisoning

Was struck by a severe case of food poisoning 2 days ago. Am unsure what exactly caused it but I have my suspicions.

I was literally throwing up every time I took anything via mouth. I couldn't even keep down water. As a result, I was dehydrated. As a physician, I knew what I needed to do, rest and drink lots of fluids.

Unfortunately, as the day went on, I realised 2 problems; firstly, I hadn't pass urine since 8 am in the morning, and secondly, I was tachycardic (high heart rate) at 137, which meant that I was not only dehydrated, but severely so.

So, at around 7 pm, I put on my winter coat, gloves and boots, and walked the 100 m to the emergency room of the hospital that I worked. I felt mildly embarrassed to be there as I was working in the emergency room a few days ago, so I saw a few familiar faces.

Despite being a resident at the hospital and being severely dehydrated, I waited a loooong 2 hours in the waiting room. I know I shouldn't complain and people are seen in order of acuity. So I guess I wasn't considered acutely ill enough.

But I just needed an IV line and a bag of normal saline to hydrate myself. Heck, I can probably even put in the IV line myself!

Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue....

Finally, I was seen by an ER colleague of mine whom I had work with recently. He was very nice and asked me what I wanted, to which I replied, Give me IV fluids until I start to pass urine.

So, for the first time in my life, I had an IV line inserted, a 20G pink line. And 1 litre of normal saline was started. I didn't want to spend a long time in the ER, so I asked for a pressure bag to speed up the infusion. (Pressure bags are normally used when a patient is severely hypotensive, ie low blood pressure, to speed up the rate of infusion.) I wasn't hypotensive (yet!) but I just wanted it to go faster.

At the end, I actually required 2 litres of normal saline and an injection of anti-emetic medication before I had the urge to pass urine. My pulse had come down to a normal 87 and I was free to go. No longer feeling nauseous, my housemate walked to McDonalds (yes, I have both KFC and McDonalds just 50 metres from my house AND the hospital!) and bought me McNuggets. And luckily, I managed to keep it down and went to bed.

Unfortunately, the next day, I was in the second phase of gastroenteritis. Severe diarrhea.

At least this time, I was able to keep my fluids down.....

Beauty and the Beast

Went down to Minneapolis with a friend to watch Beauty and the Beast The Musical. If I recall correctly, the Disney cartoon came out in 1991, which means it has been 18 years since then, and I can still recall the lyrics to all the songs. It really brought back old memories to me.

One particular memory that came to mind was when I was in standard 4, when a group of us danced to, 'Be Our Guest' for a school concert. We were all dressed up in top hats, suits and walking sticks, dancing away. Wished I had photos of that, as honestly, I cannot recall if that was a figment of my imagination or that it was such a horrible experience that I have suppressed it deep in my mind.

It was a nice get-away and I got to know my fellow colleague much better. She will be moving to a different program next year to be closer to her finance. Will surely miss her.....

Blizzard warning

A snow blizzard is coming our way.

It will be interesting to see how we cope tomorrow morning, with expected 7 to 11 inches of snow on the ground. Every now and then, the radio weatherman has been reminding people not to travel tonight and tomorrow unless absolutely necessary due to the predicted snow blizzard. Am I expected to ski in to work tomorrow morning? Or hike through 1 foot of snow?

When I came home earlier, there was already about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground. Enough snow to cause the UK to come to a standstill, but this is the mid-west where people are used to such extreme weathers.

I asked a colleague of mine earlier what happens during a blizzard. How do people get to work? How do people cope with everyday life? I was told of the power of snow plough (?!) and the daily grind never stops just because of the weather. Life just goes on around here.......

Sin City - day 2

Woke up really early again today for a bus tour to the Grand Canyon. It takes about 5-6 hours each way, which explains the really early pick-up time at 6 am.

Stopped at Hoover Dam for a short 10 minutes.


I paid a little more (okay, a lot more) for a 30 minute experience on a helicopter that provided a closer and in-depth view of the Grand Canyon.

View from the air

Then, it was off to other stops, Bright Angel Lodge and Mather Point for more photo-opportunities. Enjoy...





And then it was another long 5 hours journey back to Las Vegas.